Another eventfull Friday…

Fridays are becoming more and more action packed in Pakistani political sphere, of late. Starting from Friday, July 20th from the historical verdict of the reinstation of the Chief Justice, followed by the rather pretentious Friday verdict of setting aside the petitions by the Supereme court citing technical reasons, filed against the dual office of President Musharraf, till the latest one, the eventul Friday of October 5th to be precise; when the Supereme court rejected the stay petition filed by Jusitce(r) Wajihuddin against holding the Presidential elections and sanctioned the Presidential elections to be held according to the plans but with a check on official announcement of the results till October 17th when Supereme court will announce a full verdict of the review petitions.

In another development on Friday October 5th, the government approved an unprecedented act called “The National Reonciliation Ordinance 2007” which in its early hours is attracting a fair amount of criticm especially from the opposition benches. The government claims it to be a sincere effort of bringing together various stray elements of Pakistani politics by exempting them of the charges filed against them due to one reason or the orther. The ordinance specifically exempts the Politicians from the charges filed against them during the period of 1986 to 1999.

In the opposition circles, it is believed to be especially designed for Miss. Benazir Bhutto,for bringing her into the fold of ruling alliance when she is out of the country facing some serious charges of corruption, but who Mr. Musharraf sees a possible ally when the general elections are just around the corner, hence the much talked about deal. The opposition are doubting the government’s sincerity in announcing the Act, and are demanding the government to allow Mr. Nawaz Sharif, the former Prime Minister to come back from the forced exile if the government is sincere enough in its slogan of national reconciliation.

The Act is fresh enough for one to gauge the public opinion for its validitiy, but a layman would defnetly raise an eybrow over the exemption of the plunderers and looters of the nation from the charges of courruption and treachery , filed against them in different national and international courts, just for the government to derive political strength on the eve of the upcoming elections. The irony is that it is the same government which has been seeking legitimacy bashing the same politicians for quite some time now. Why did the government not think about such reconciliation in all these years when the country has been bleeding from all sides and center? Why this act less than 20 hours prior to the presidential elections?

The nation Pakistan is much more aware of the political scene and the respective players as compared to 2002, courtesy a flourishing media and it is hoped that they will choose the next assembly comprising some men of character (sounds strange though) and will totally reject the world famous turn coats, in order to check this national down slide, otherwise the next five years is long enough a time to wither all the hopes of a stable and progressive Pakistan.